Canal Boat — February 2018

32 February 2018 Canal Boat canalboat.co.uk

LENGTH: 52ft

BEAM: 6ft 10in

SHELL: Aintree Boats

STYLE: Semi-trad

LAYOUT: Reverse

FIT-OUT: Oak and painted tongue and groove

BERTHS: 2+2+2

ENGINE: Beta 38 Tel: 01452 723492

http://www.betamarine.co.uk

INVERTER: Victron 3kw

BOW THRUSTER: Vetus 55kgf

http://www.vetus.com

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Fantasia II Price £85,000

AINTREE BOATS

Units 14, 15, 16, Brookfield Tradecentre

Brookfield Drive, Aintree, Liverpool, L9 7AS

0151 523 9000 http://www.aintreeboats.co.uk

Want to see more? Go to canal boat.co.uk for a fabulous 360^0 tour through the boat

THE BOAT TESTTHE BOAT TEST

DESIGN AND DECOR

 HOB: Thetford Topline 931 £205 midlandchandlers.co.uk

 DIESEL STOVE: Lockgate-Refleks £650 lockgate.com

 SOFA BED: Sofa Bed Barn From £500 sofabedbarn.co.uk

VERDICTVERDICT

There’s always a potential problem when you try

to fit everything you’d find in a 60ft boat into one

that’s only 52ft long: there’s a strong chance it

will feel cramped, that the whole thing will be

compromised. But this boat has cleverly avoided

that pitfall. That the dinette is a bit smaller than

usual is hardly noticeable, and the shower room’s

clever design means that every inch of space is

used. Even the massive sofa somehow doesn’t

seem out of place.

Part of the reason for the spacious feel is

because of the choices made by the owners. The

white cabin sides, the colourful fabrics, and the

pigeon box all help make the boat seem bigger

than it really is.

This boat also shows that you can have great

value without having to have an off-the-peg

design. Fantasia II is a boat which is properly

bespoke and yet cost only £85,000. That’s an

exceptional price for a boat with this amount of

quality and charm.

It’s a combination which helps explain why

Aintree have been so successful. They might

have reached 200, but they’re very much not out.

Cabin 8ft

Chower room 5ft 5in

Saloon 7ft Dinette 6ft Galley 9ft 10in

AINTREE BOATS
Aintree Boats had an interesting birth,
back in 2010. A north-west charity had had
a boat built by Skater Marine and between
delivery and snagging the company
folded; staff hadn’t been paid and other
customers were in danger of losing their
boats. The chairman of the charity, David
Flynn, took it on himself to set up a new
company, taking on many of the same staff
and completing the unfinished boats.
As David Flynn had never intended to
end up owning a boat building company,
he soon handed the company on to
existing staff Jamie Greaves and Andy
Jenkins who’ve been running it
successfully ever since.
The firm now employs a couple of dozen
people. It still offers a range of standard
boats as well as more bespoke ones.
Shells and sailaways are also a big part of
the business. And then there’s the Aintree
Beetle, a range of affordable steel boats
starting as short as 25ft.
CB